Sellers Risk in Creative Finance deals- Have you seen buyers default?

[Nick Bruckner]

I talked to a potential off market seller last week who owns her six unit apartment building outright. Building is immaculate in Fairview (c+ area) with a strong rental market, but relatively low sale value if she sold it (around $530-$540K) compared to her rental income of $1400/unit. Her building has great cash flows, but isn't worth a lot - so she'd prefer not to sell it in a traditional transaction.

She is a tired landlord, would like to move out of state, doesn't want to deal with capital gains tax, and likes the monthly income (it's her retirement and she's over 60!). I presented her with seller financing as an option - both getting paid over 2-4 years or a long term deal. She could get a nice downpayment to buy a home or another property, and retain monthly income (in the long term option) as well as make money charging interest. Her only concern was she didn't want to deal with a foreclosure if the buyer didn't keep on top of monthly payments. 

In deals we've done, I haven't seen this happen yet. Usually investors with properties that cash flow are pretty motivated to make their payments on time. It's crazy not to. But I realized I didn't really have data to give her about how often buyers default in these situations nationally. I suppose it would depend on the rental market and the property (if it didn't cash flow - could be a problem), but we have a very strong rental market here. I also explained to her that she should vet her buyer (credit check, background check, proof of funds, landlord experience, etc - much like a traditional lender)

Does anyone know if there is somewhere to find this data? It's not publicly recorded as far as I am aware, so I imagine it is difficult to track. Does anyone have experience to share, either good or bad, or any other insights? @Jamie Rose @Tyler Cobb

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @Taylor Dasch:

I'm not sure about the data, but a guy on tik tok that I watch puts a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" clause in his seller financing deals - to be fair I know nothing about this, but he says that it is a document that states that if the buyer misses a payment by 30 days, the deed will automatically be transferred back to the seller. 

in most states what your describing is totally illegal and wont hold up..